Shut Eye (Hulu 2016, Jeffrey Donovan, KaDee Strickland)

In Shut Eye Charlie Haverford is a failed magician who now works as a psychic/conman overseeing a number of fortune telling parlors in Los Angeles. Employed for many years by a Romani kingpin, Charlie’s life is stifled and going nowhere until a blow to the head jars him into a new mindset and makes him question everything he has ever believed. When his wife urges him to break out on his own, he’s careful – because he knows that one wrong move will land him in a shallow grave.

Shut Eye takes a darkly comedic look at the underground world of Los Angeles storefront psychics and the organized crime syndicate that runs them. The story revolves around a disgruntled player in the organization who finds his cynical world view challenged when he starts to experience visions that may or may not be real.

From Hulu’s press release, November 2017… Charlie Haverford (Jeffrey Donovan) promised Linda (KaDee Strickland) a home when they first met – a luxury they have yet to truly relax into all these years later, given their never-ending chase of the next con. Now, more than ever, Charlie and Linda need to completely trust one another, but that’s never been easy for these two unrelenting con-artists. As Linda struggles with Gina’s (Emmanuelle Chriqui) death, her concern over Charlie’s sanity, and the thinning thread of faith she has for her husband’s “plan” to save their lives and livelihood, Charlie plots to get out from under Fonso (Angus Sampson), Rita (Isabella Rossellini) and Eduardo’s (David Zayas) thumbs.

Meanwhile, he continues to attempt to make sense of his visions and to further his quest to finally realize a “home” for his family. The Marks family faces similar uncertainty as their home has quite literally been taken from them. Fonso and Rita are left at odds following the dramatic events surrounding Drina (Havana Guppy) and Lil’ Tony’s wedding. Rita, a staunch defender of tradition, quickly learns that her future depends on deftly navigating her obligations to her family and her culture. Her life is further complicated by a federal investigation that threatens everything she holds dear. Fonso, now cast out from his family and community, must reinvent himself and figure out where this new incarnation belongs. Even in Los Angeles – a city caught between bullshit and enlightenment – there is no place like home.